Some Middle School Students Want Behavior Commitment Devices (but Take-Up Does Not Affect Their Behavior).

ABSTRACT: Commitment devices impose costs on one's future self for failing to follow through on one's intentions, offer no additional benefit to one's future self for following through on the intention, and people voluntarily enroll in them. Enrollment in commitment devices reflects self-awareness that one may lack sufficient self-control to fulfill one's intentions. There is little experimental research on whether school-age children possess the self-awareness necessary to enroll in a commitment device, despite evidence that children and young adolescents have many positive intentions that they fail to live up to, such as demonstrating improved school conduct or eating healthier. We report the first field experiment examining the demand for, and impact of, commitment devices among middle school stu

SUBMITTER: Robinson CD 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5835880 | biostudies-literature | 2018

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature